Tread for tractor-wheels.



BOLLIE B. FAGEOL, OF OAKLAND,

AND CHARLES A. SMITH, OF SAN FRANCISCO,

CALIFORNIA.

'BREAD FOB, TRACTOR-WHEELS.

Application filed April 16, 1917.

To all whom it may; concern:

Be it known that we, 'Ronnie il. Faction and CgnARLns A. Siurrn, citizens of the United States, residing, tlnl said Faction at Oakland, in the county ot' Alameda and State of California, and the said Snrru in the cit)7 and county of San Francisco, State 0f California, have invented certain new und useful Improvements in Treads for Tract orllVheels, of which the following is a speeiih cation.

The present invention relates to rondrunning traction treads particuiarl) adapted for the wheels of sellpropelled and tractor vehicles, such as motor trucks, traction engines, and the like.

The object of the invenlni.l is to provide a wheel tread for the described purpose, which presents a comparatively large and flat bearing surface for contact with the ground, to secure the greatest possible trac tion, without necessitating the use of sharp projecting cleats or other groundgripping devices, which necessarll)Y break up and destroy the surface over which the)I travel. Our wheels can therefore be efhiotiveliv used upon vehicles tra veling upon unpaved roads, and on heavy roads overt-ome the road resistance at the saine time furnishing a sutlicient bearing area to insure the necessary traction and compress the loose top soil thereof. In fact, our improved wheel` presenting as it does a very much. greater tread surface than a plain smooth-tired wheel is less harmful to the road surface.

Our invention will be hereinafter described in its preferred forni, and it is so illustrated, but. is is to be understood that. changes, within the scope of the claims hereto appended, may be made in the form and construction of the device without departingr from the spirit of the invention.

With this in view, our invent-ion will now he fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a part-sectional side elevation of a portion of our improved traction tread as applied to a wheel specially huilt to receive it.

Figs. 2 and 3 are transverse sections through the tread portion of? our wheel. Ytaken in the direction of the arrows respectively on the lines 2-2 and 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 4, 1918.

Serial No. 162,269.

Fig. 4 a plan view of a portieri of one of the tread shoes.

Fig. 5 is a transverse section, reduced in size, showing ourtread applied to a wheel of the usual type, the tread in this ense being an attachment.

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 designates tin` run of a Wheel having the usual spokes 2 and the huh 3. A pair of spaced flanges 4. lying in the plane of the wheel and positioned one near each side of the rim l, are provided innnediately outside said rim and are retained thereupon by annular lot-king flanges 5 adapted to lic within annular grooves (3 formed in the outer surfaces ot' said flanges 4 and provided with grooves T at their peripheries adapted to engage the edges ol` the rim l. A series of transverse pins or bolts H are passed through the flanges l and the locking flanges 5 and nach is provided a1 nach rnd with a nut., by means of; which it may 'he made secure. The bolts S are formed with eccentric central portions 9 adapted to lie between the flanges 4 and to space the same. The bolts 8 are disposed in pai rs near thtl inner peripheral edges of the flanges 4, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. I

Near thtI outer edges ot' the flanges 4 is n series ot transverse pins or bolts 10, there being' one ot' said bolts l() positioned init'lway between each two adjacent pairs 0 bolts S. The nuts of the transverse bolts 8 and l0 lie within recesses l1 formed in the flanges l and 5 and are inclosed to exclude grit. and dust liv means of removable screw plugs or raps l2.

The holte 8 and 10 are surrounded by rotatable sleeves 8 and 10 respectively, preferably formed of steel or other hard material: and interposed between said sleeves and the bolts 8 and 10 are antilfriction bushings 14 of any Well known form or material adapted to insure the free movement of the sleeve at all times. Said bushings are preferably of the well known self lubricating type. A

'A series of tread shoes 15 is disposed about the peripheral edge of the Wheel, each having an inwardly extending portion adapted tolie between the said flanges 4 and. to be slidably movablebetween said flanges. The outer portions of said tread shoes are flat and may be formed, if desired,

with serrated or irreguinr surfaces iii adapted to lie upon und grip tho 2ground7 und with lateral shonhler li' uduptcd Vfor ongugoinent with the poriphorul. cdgos of said Hangers l. The inwardly projooting portion of euch trend Shoo, :ill of which are alike in construction, rompi-isos :1` pair of spaced lineully disposed flanges 1i adapted to lio innnediutely within the wheel filingos 4 andV n pair of trnnsrersrly disposed ond ilnnges 15 formed with oxtfirior involnto bearing sul'funes 1S', :ulzlpted to lie linotwonn adjacent tranoverse pins '10 und to boar aguinst the sleeves 10 mounted thereupon. Tho inner edge portion oi'Y smid transverse end flanges 1S nre/tornufd with i.uitwurtilir curled por tions 19 to prevont the completo rcinovul of the tread Shoo post the transverse pins 10.

Euch trend slim carries. .fi trunsversoly dis poscd pin ZG upon which mounted n. rotutable Sleeve 2l. An untidirirtion bushing 22 is preferably intorposrd bei-tween said pin und Suid sleeve :rs in ihr #free of the proviu ously dnsrrihi-il pini:y n und in. nu endless belt :f3 is positivi nro url [iw prrphery ol" iw wheel in the innnnor shown big. 'l o3" the drawings. piinsing undoi ihr pins and forming a loop between thi' two members of cach puir of smid pine und said loop being passed over the piu 20. carried by tho tread shoe. The. tread shoes :ire` thus held in position between the Hongos 1- of thc wheel rim by means of tho bolt 23 :nid its enn gagexnent with tho pins il() ol' said trend shoes.

The notion of sind u'heol uut: be drsoribed as follows: The forni nl 11h iii-voluto bear-- ing surfaces 1H is urii. tbm us one end of the trend shoe is rel ruilen! nivnrd the renter of the wherihr oiirr mid oi' smid ,shoe must move oui'uf'urdly nnny tron ihn enter so that tho ohne nur v thusy intro n. roi-king movemont in the plone nl the wheel; tho pin 20 of lhe trend .shoe bring noni-ur one end thereof, n pullv on the belt 22% causes tho end of the trend shoe carrying sind pin to move inwardly` und the ogniorite end of seid shoc to more correspondingly outwardly. This is the normal position oi" the rtreed shoes when out of contact with the ground. as shown :it A in Fig. i. The opposite end of Suid trend oboe is pruvented Vfrom further outward niorrun'nt by thc: (furled ond 19 of its involuto lie-:ning snrlluo. This position of the trend .shoe :is schoon :it A causes uuid shoe to lie flut upon the ground, ns shown at B, when said shoe brought intr contact with the ground surface, it boingr understood that the. Wheel is revolving in the direction of the arrow :ind therefore moving bodily over the ground iu the opposite direction.

The belt 23 is providrd with enough slack to permit one of tho trend shoes of the series to occupy the position rel-tive to the wheel shown :it C, where the ond of said Shoo Carrying the pin 20 is moved outwardly to its rxlroine ontw-.ml position und the opposite enll of said shoe is moved inwardly to its eX- Lronio inwind position. This position of the trend shoe, shown :it C, is caused by 'its 00ntact with the ground and the weight of the wheel therinipon. In this connection it should bo started that the Weight of thc wheel of the vehicle is unrriod by the outer periphernl odge of tho rim flanges, i resting Iand rolling upon tho lutcinlsbouldurs 15' of the trend shoes: lo, said shoulders forming a con tinunm ihn transl: upon which the wheel rolls. Thus it will be seenthat in passing from the position B to the position C. tho trezol shot: renmins fiat upon the ground and rhnng'es its position relative to the wheel by revrrsing the reiative positions of its ends with respect to thf. pins 1U in enguge nient therewith. 'liwo tread shoes are thus :it ull times in flat Contact with the ground, und. es the wheel revolves und the trend shoe in lifted Yfrom thr position C, it if; caused to i'rtui'n in in: normal position relativo to the 'wheol rini, :is shown tt l), by the bolt 23 being pulled outwnrdljv by tho movement of the succeeding trend .shoe as it moves into its position (il, the length of the belt allowing' only one` shoe to occupy the reversed position as shown at C. An ample traction surfant., coxnIn-ising the length and 'width of two trend shoes` iS; thus provided nt all times for tho whccl.

The pins 8 ure, as before stated. eocentri Jolly niountedin the rim fiunges and may be iotutod tin-rein upon the loosening of their rrnperiive nuts iv tho rotation of Suid pins il the bolil *Effi muy be tightened to reducey 1hr :uuonnt oi' slack therein to the desired quantity. lt should bf mentioned in this ronuertion tlnit said holt is formed of somo relnl ivellv non-elastic material, for tho proper action of the tread depends upon the amount of slack in said belt.

Our in'iproved tread muy he Constructed as a device to be ttm-.hed io :i 'wheel of the usual type und equipped with theF-isunl tire. Tn this (msm illustrated in Fig. 5 of the drawings` the flanges 4 are adapted to be clamped upon the edges of the usual rim 1 to which the tire 1 is attached. The action of the tread in this connection is identical with that described above, the only differonce boing that it is adapted for use upon existing wheels of the ordinary type, so that a vehicle equipped with the usual wheels may bo roadiljyr transfmrd into a vehicle having our improved trend. without necessitating the construction of entirely new Wheels.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire t0 protect by Letters Patent is:-

l. A detachable traction tread for wheels 1n operative relation wit and for removably positioning over the tire thereof comprising a pair of laterally spaced flanges forming a 'peripheral rim carried by the wheel, a plurality of spaced transversel disposed bearing members between said anges, a'series of tread shoes carried one between each two adjacent bearing members and movable thereupon, a flexible connection between said tread shoes and said flanges adapted to permit a plurality of said tread shoes to have simultaneous contact with the ground, and a pair of annular locking flanges coperatin with said rim flanges and the wheel tire or retaining the tread thereon.

2. A tread for traction wheels comprising a rim carried by the wheel, a series of tread shoes peripherally disposed about said rim and movable with respect thereto and an endless flexible member associated with said rim for retaining said tread shoes in operative relation therewith.

3. A. tread for traction wheels comprising a rim carried by the wheels, a plurality of guide members carried by said rim. a series of tread shoes peripherally disposed `about said rim, a guide member carried by each tread shoe, and an endless flexible me1nber passing` under the guide members of said rim and over the guide members of said tread shoes for vretainin said tread shoes said rim.

4. l A tread for traction wheels, comprising a rim carried by the Wheel, a series of tread shoes peripherally disposed about said rim and adapted for rockin movement with respect thereto \in the p ane of the wheel,

.and an endless 'flexible member associated with said rim and said tread shoes for rewheel, a series of tread shoes peripherally disposed about said flanges, each tread shoe having an inner portion adapted to lie between said flangesl and an outer portion adapted for contact with the ground, said outer portion having lateral shoulders upon which the flanges of said rim are adapted to ride, coperatin members carried by said flanges and the inner portions of said tread shoes for permitting said shoes to have rocking movement with respect to said flanges in the plane of the wheel, and flexible means for connecting said tread shoes with said flanges to permit a plurality of said tread shoes to have simultaneous contact with the ground.

6. A tread for traction wheels comprising a pair of laterally spaced annular flanges formin a peripheral rim about the Wheel, a plura ity of tread slices peripherally disposed about said rim. each having a portion adapted to lie between said flanges and to have rocking movement with respect thereto in the plane of the wheel. bearing members carried by said flanges for limiting the movement of said tread shoes, a series of transversely disposed guide members carried between said flanges. a transverselydisposed guide member carried by each tread shoe, an endless flexible member associated with the guide members of said flanges and said tread shoes for retaining the latter in position, said flexible member permitting the rocking movement of said tread shoes, and means for adjusting the operative length of said endless flexible member.

In testimony whereof We have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROLLIE B. FAGEOL. CHARLES A. SMITH.

Witnesses:

HARRY A. To'rrEN, D. B. RICHARDS. 

